Not Just a Kiss
by MissZatanna
Summary: He'd wondered why he loved her so much. Why he put up with everything she did to him. Then all at once, in that one moment of ridiculous bliss, it flooded back to him. One-shot. Wally/Artemis. Rated T for concept.


**A/N this is based off the song Just A Kiss by Lady Antebellum. IT's really beautiful, and I absolutely love it. The music doesn't come in until the end, so be patient with me. This is my first time writing on so bear with me. This is a one-shot of Wally/Artemis from the show Young Justice. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. Believe me, if I did, Wally and Artemis would have been together from the very beginning.**

**OK here we go!**

* * *

Artemis was sprawled onto Wally's chest. Their chests moved together in unison. Of course, he was shirtless. He'd always complained how hot her apartment was. She quietly looked up at him. His eyes were closed. She couldn't tell whether he was sleeping or just relaxing which was unusual, since she'd known him for so long and had gotten used to how he did things. She absently played with the ring on her finger, twisting it around.

The night was quiet, dark. Her eyes drooped but before they could come to a close, she quickly opened them wide. She couldn't fall asleep. Actually, it wasn't that she couldn't. More so that she wouldn't. This fantasy, this dream of her and Wally loving each other unconditionally was just that. A dream. She was afraid that falling asleep would make her wake up to the reality of everything. Afraid that when she woke up, Wally wouldn't be there to comfort her after another nightmare or make her breakfast in bed when she was sick. Or kiss her so passionately that everything around her froze and in this one point in time, it was just them. Just these two star-crossed lovers in their own happy universe.

Afraid her exhaustion from not sleeping for the past week or so would consume her, she calmly got up and grabbed a cup of coffee. She walked to the kitchen, made some coffee and sat at the table. She just sat there, drinking her caffeinated beverage and twisting the ring on her finger still. A slight smile twitched at her lips as she remembered how he'd done it.

It was a simple night. They were lounging around her apartment, eating Chinese food and watching Jersey Shore. Not because she loved the show (in all honesty, she hated it) but because Wally did and he insisted on her just trying it out. They ate their food in silence for a while, trying to comprehend what the orange-skinned idiots were doing on the show. Every once in a while, Artemis would giggle at the characters. Not because she liked the show or the people, but because it just donned on her how stupid people could be. But then Wally turned off the TV and just looked at her. He brought out the fortune cookies and gave her a specific one, which she thought was bizarre, now that he was calling dibs on fortune cookies of all things. But she opened it with no argument. But something else was inside other than a fortune. A silver ring lined with diamonds fell into her lap. He said that he didn't want to do something fancy. He wanted to do something that they would remember in a long time and also remember whenever he was just sitting here, watching Jersey Shore (should the show be still on by then) and eating Chinese food with his favorite person in the world. She gladly accepted.

That was three weeks ago. Ever since then, they'd been living in bliss and complete passion for each other. They hadn't planned on telling the team for another month or so. They were both born in May and wanted to wait until they both turned 18. M'gann, however, noticed the ring the next day and squealed with excitement. They were congratulated by the team and the Justice League, though Flash and Black Canary both thought they were still too young. But after a good talk with Green Arrow and Wally's Aunt Iris, they decided that the two love birds should be happy now more than ever.

"Hey beautiful." She heard a voice come from the direction of the bedroom and she turned her head to smile at him. Still, he was shirtless, which she didn't really mind at all. He sped over to her in a second and gently kissed her cheek from behind her. He stood behind her chair and began to kiss from her lower neck up to her cheek. She sighed in contentment and put down her coffee. When he was done, he sat next to her and gently kissed her on the lips. "Why are you up so early?" He checked his watch. "It's almost 3 AM." Concern riddled his voice.

She shrugged. "I couldn't sleep." She didn't dare spill the fact that she was too afraid to sleep to even try. She knew he'd comfort her but she didn't want it. In her mind, knowing that she was too afraid of losing him was being weak. And if Artemis was anything, it definitely wasn't weak.

He laughed half-heartedly and took the mug from her hands. "And you're drinking coffee?" He asked.

"It's decaffeinated," she lied. She knew Wally well enough that if he figured out it wasn't, he'd tell her to sleep and wouldn't rest until she was drifting off into dreamland. But that was just too much for her. She couldn't risk waking up to find him not laying there next to her, her head against his chest, his fingers tracing patterns into her back. It was just too painful without him there with her. She sighed and got up. "I'm going to take a shower."

Wally just nodded. He knew what she was like. Every now and then when something was up, she would take a nice hot shower to cool off. He guessed this time, she was just washing away the exhausted feeling she must have had. He knew she hadn't slept for the last week and a half. He should've called her out on it, but he knew her all too well. When she was tired, she was cranky. And he wasn't about to bark up that tree. Suddenly, something plinked and he knew instantly that her phone had a new text message. He searched the coat pockets of her coat which was strewn across the couch. It was a text from M'gann. He turned to the bathroom but realized that she was already in the shower, the door wide open.

He knew that she didn't mind him reading a text from M'gann, so he flipped open the screen and read the message. He froze. He didn't know what to say. After about another 5 minutes of just standing there, staring at the phone screen, he walked gently over to his seat at the table, set down his coffee and the phone in front of him. He was going to wait until Artemis came out of the shower.

When she walked into the kitchen, her hair damp and dripping down one of Wally's t-shirts that she was wearing along with her dark green pajama pants, he just stared at her phone, sitting on the table. She sat down in front of him, took a sip of her coffee, and finally realized that something was on his mind. She looked at him with concerned eyes and asked, "What's wrong? Is that my phone?"

She went to reach for it, but his head just snapped up and looked at her. "What do you need to tell me?" He asked. His voice sounded hurt but his face showed no emotion.

Confused, she looked at her phone and read the text message from M'gann. She sighed and fell onto her chair. Her head in her hands, she just shook her head. She felt on the verge of tears, but everyone and their uncle knew that she didn't cry. She looked up at him with scared eyes. "Wally," she started. She let out a deep breath and finally splurted out, "I'm pregnant."

He just sat there, staring. He didn't do anything. For a few minutes, it was like his brain was on shut down mode. He couldn't think, he couldn't speak, he couldn't even blink. All that ran through his mind was that Artemis, a 17 year old superhero with responsibilities and missions to go on almost every day, was pregnant. And he was the father. She was pregnant. Artemis was pregnant. She was going to have a baby. And he was the father. He covered his mouth with his hand. Soon, his whole face was in his hands and he just looked at her, clearly hurt and scared. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.

She said, "I just found out on Friday."

3 days ago. He should've known on Saturday at least. He wasn't hurt by that though. What hurt him most was the fact that she told M'gann before she told him. She told her friend before she told the father of the baby. And now what's going to happen? Were they going have the baby and keep it? What would Batman and Flash think of this? What would the team think of them? Questions spun around in his mind.

"Well, say something. Anything," she whispered. She pleaded with every last fiber in her body. She couldn't go through this alone. She needed his support and love more than she needed to breathe.

"I can't...I don't..." Without thinking, he got up off the chair. He paced in front of the TV. Suddenly, anger shot through his veins. He didn't know why but he was angry with her. This could ruin everything. Their lives, their spot on the team. Everything.

She could feel the sting of the tears in her eyes. She couldn't do this without him. She needed him now more than ever. She loved him and he loved her. They would get through this. Woudn't they? But then she saw the look on his face and she couldn't help but let out a quick cry. Then she finally figured it out. "You're angry. Why?"

He laughed in agony, "Why? Artemis, this could ruin our whole lives. We could lose our spots on the team!" With every word, his voice rose in anger.

Now she was angry too. But not that he was angry. She was mad because after everything they'd been through, he was worried more about their spot on the team than her. She was going through a lot right now too, but all he cared about was his precious spot on the team. "You know, Wally, it takes two to tango!" she cried. "We made this baby together and now we have to go through with this! This is not just _my_ fault!"

It was like he wasn't even controlling himself after what happened next. It was like he was a puppet on strings and the puppetmaster was out to bring down Artemis with every last fiber in their being. Wally just screamed back at her, "So, you're pregnant, we're off the team and I'm just supposed to be _ok_ with that?"

She suddenly felt like someone just stabbed her in the heart with a knife, ran over it with a truck, sewn it back together loosely and placed it back in her chest. They were supposed to be soulmates. They were supposed to be there for each other, forever and for always. She knew he would be scared but not angry like this. But anger corrupted her own mind and soon she wasn't thinking straight at all. "Yes! Because you LOVE me!"

They stopped screaming for a moment. Of course, he loved her. He loved her more than anything and would do anything for her at any time. But this was too much. He wasn't ready to be a father. He still went to school and played video games with Robin and even loved M'gann's snickerdoodles more than he should've. It wasn't that he didn't want to be a father. Sure, they'd talked about it before. They both agreed on two kids; a boy and a girl. Obviously, one can't control the sex of a baby, but one could hope. But he was 17, still a naive teenager.

He hated yelling at her, he hated her yelling at him and he hated that with every scream tossed back and forth, his heart was being stabbed with a knife. He'd wanted to live happily ever after; get married when they turned eighteen in May, have children, and work with his favorite person in the world. He'd dreamed of waking up next to her, holding her in his arms and having the feeling that she was his forever.

"Artemis, I can't-"

"Of course you can't!" She cried. Her voice was beginning to quiver and instantly, the tears came to her eyes. They rolled down her cheeks and for a moment, Wally was completely taken aback. Artemis never cried in front of anyone, even Wally. He knew her too well to know that crying wasn't something she did often. She barely cried at all, let alone in front of people. "Do you want to know why, Wally?"

Silence.

"Because you're still the immature, irresponsible, incredibly frustrating jerk that I let myself fall for!"

It went on and on. Always on and on.

* * *

He'd left her that night. He'd grabbed his coat and walked out the door, refusing to look at her the whole time. Not even when she threw his phone at him and broke down into sobs did he turn and look at her. His gaze was just fixed on whatever was in front of him, so long as it was not Artemis.

He'd gone back to the mountain. Where else was he supposed to go? He'd Zeta Tubed in and walked to his room. He didn't run. Running meant he was happy. He was definitely not happy. Once the door was closed to the rest of the world and he was alone in his room, his face was in his hands once again and he wished that he didn't have to be strong all the time. He wished he could just fall on the floor, cry, and wake up where this nightmare never had happened.

For split second, he wished that he'd never fallen head over heels for the archer. But just as quickly as the thought had come, it was gone.

He loved her more than anything and that warm fuzzy feeling he felt couldn't go away. He didn't want it to. Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door. His bright green eyes shifted to the door but he didn't attempt to get it. He just sat there, working up the words to say. He didn't want to talk right now. Actually, he barely even wanted to breathe. But despite the crushing feeling his heart harbored, he whispered hoarsely, "It's open," secretly hoping that they wouldn't hear him and just leave.

No such luck. Robin walked in. He was in his normal civilian clothing: a black t-shirt with a green hoodie overtop, dark blue jeans and sneakers. His dark sunglasses weren't covering his eyes anymore. His dark blue irises were soft. He didn't need to hide his identity from Wally. They'd known each other even before he'd become Robin. "Hey."

Wally just nodded in response. He didn't feel much like talking. Truthfully, he felt like crawling up in a ball and crying until his eyes gave out.

"I heard you zeta in."

More silence.

"There was a fight, wasn't there?" It was more of a statement than a question. Robin had known Wally long enough to realize that he only ever slept at the mountain for early morning missions from Batman or to hide out from fights he'd had with Artemis.

"I just don't know what to do anymore, Rob."

"I'm sure it can't be that bad, man," he responded from the doorway. Wally just shook his head in his hands and sighed. "What, did you leave the toilet seat up again?"

The speedster was quiet for another few minutes. It was hard for him to even say the words. He couldn't believe it himself. "She's...pregnant."

Robin's mouth opened the slightest bit but said nothing. He hesitated for a moment. He didn't know what to say. Even Robin understood the ramifications of her pregnancy. Almost everyone would; except for Artemis. Not knowing what to say, he simply came up with the solution of, "Then what are you doing here?"

Wally knew what he meant. What was he doing here when Artemis was probably scared to death at home? Shouldn't he be supporting her, caring for her? Of course he should be. But as much as he loved her, this one thing seemed to change everything he'd ever known. Everything he'd ever felt was being pulled away by this one small factor: a baby.

"I don't know," he whispered. Robin could tell that he was on the verge of tears. Not knowing what to say next, the boy wonder just gave him a pat on the back for reassurance and support and left Wally to cry in solitude.

Wally stayed there for the next few days. Every hour of the day, he'd wait in the kitchen to hear the familiar sound of Artemis zeta in but she never came. He wouldn't eat, he wouldn't sleep. He wouldn't even stay in the kitchen if M'gann or anyone walked in. Being around the others just reminded him that 1/7 of the team was missing. Once, whey were briefed on a mission and Artemis's absence was more than just noticed. Everyone turned to Wally to ask why. He simply said that she had caught the stomach flu from his mom when they went to his parents' house for dinner last week.

Then he too claimed he didn't feel well. He was let off from the mission.

* * *

He laid on his bed, staring aimlessly at the ceiling. It was the strangest thing Robin had ever seen. Wally just laid there, his hands glued behind his head and his eyes never leaving the off-white slate above him. Wally was Kid Flash. He never laid down for more than a second at his own will. He was always moving. Now, he was laying perfectly still, barely even blinking. It wasn't normal. _He_ wasn't normal.

Suddenly, his mind raced back to when it all began. When he really started to feel for her the way he did so passionately. After he'd become Dr. Fate and the world's existence rested on his shoulders. When he donned the helmet, the only thing he could think of was what if he never saw Artemis again? Then after he'd taken off the helmet, nothing please him more than to see the smile on Artemis's face.

_"Find your own little spitfire. One who won't let you get away with nothing."_

It was her. It was Artemis. He hated the way that she manipulated things he would say when they argued. He hated how when she was annoyed, she'd wrinkle her nose and turn away from him. He hated how he would never truly understand her. But he loved her for it all. He loved how they argued so much, that in a warped way, it was their way of saying they cared. He loved how when he was with her, he was more protective than anything. And how when they kissed, the world seemed frozen and dead until their lips met each other's. He loved her for the good and the bad times.

"You love her, don't you?"

He heard a voice from the doorway. Of course, it was his favorite Boy Wonder. Funny, he hadn't even heard the door open. He just nodded and whispered, "Of course I do. That's what makes it so much worse."

It always did. Every fight they had, every argument they encountered was always another rip or tear in Wally's heart. Now it felt like his heart burst open and nothing would ever make it better.

"You can't let her go, Wally. You love her too much for that."

"But I can't...I mean, I don't know what to do. She's going to have our baby, Rob. What happens after that? We live happily ever after? The world doesn't work like that. There's always going to be a consequence for whatever happens."

"I don't what's going to happen. But you need to be there for her. This can't be any easier for you than it is for her. You love her, Wally. I've known you forever and I'll tell you one thing: you've loved her from the very beginning."

Wally couldn't say anything more. It was true. He loved her more than he even cared to admit. He couldn't let her slip out of his touch like so many times he had already. He quickly grabbed his sweatshirt, grabbed something off of his nightstand and ran out the door.

* * *

**Cue Lady Antebellum**

* * *

The sky was dark, the gray clouding beginning to let the rain fall down.

It began to rain. He walked hurriedly to where he knew she would be. Finally, he could see her sitting under the pavillion. He was a few meters away when she looked up and noticed him, his wet hair in his face, his clothes soaking wet. Though the rain kept pouring and the people around them were carrying umbrellas, he didn't care. Her hand was motherly placed across her stomach. She walked into the rain a few feet away from him.

Now she was soaked as well but she didn't care.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. She almost had to yell over the rain splattering against the pavement.

"Because I'm sorry," was his lame excuse.

She shook her head. "Why should I believe you? Why do you deserve it?"

He shook his head and laughed weakly. Tears streamed down his face. "Because I love you! I have always loved you! I love the way you make me tingly whenever you smile, the way you flip your hair when your angry. Even the way we argue over the stupidest things! I love you for you. I love who you are no matter who that is!"

She was beginning to go weak at the knees. But she couldn't give up so easily. He'd hurt her, betrayed her. Been cruel and untrusting. And with not even meticulous planning for this event, he went on a whim, hoping to God himself that she would forgive him.

"I can't live without you!" He yelled. Now she was beginning to cry. "You make me hotheaded and insane and crazy! But I love the feeling I get when I wake up next to you. Knowing that soon, you're going to be mine and nothing is going to come between us, no matter how many arguments we have. You love me and I love you and we're just going to have to accept that this isn't _ perfect!_"

He ran towards her at normal speed and kissed her without any hesitation; like she was the only thing in the world that mattered. And with that one passionate moment, he realized just how perfect it all was.

"How do I know this isn't just a kiss?" She asked.

He smiled weakly and opened his hand and in his palm was the diamond ring she'd thrown at him before he left the few days beforehand. He slipped it on her finger. "Artemis, will you do the extraordinary honor of marrying my sorry butt?"

She knew instantly that no kiss he would ever give her again would be just a kiss. "You idiot," she smiled. He swept her up in his arms and kissed her, knowing that no matter what happens, he was hers and she was his. Forever.


End file.
